Objective:

What does Default mean for how Custom Fields appear in Matters?
I made a Custom Field "Default," why is it not showing up in my Matters?

Environment:

Clio Manage

Additional Information:

You can add populated Custom Fields in bulk by importing from a spreadsheet: How to Import Data into Matter Custom Fields

Answer:

A Default Custom Field will be visible:

in the Custom Fields section on the Create new matter or Edit matter page
in the Dashboard tab for newly created Matters
in the Dashboard for existing Matters, after editing and saving the Matter

The field will not display in the Dashboard tab for Matters that already existed when the field was created (or set as "Default"), unless you edit and save the Matter.